Narrowboat Puns

After spotting a damp patch on my narrowboat floor I took down a ceiling & wall panel to discover it was very wet with dirty rusty water on the walls & ceiling behind the polystyrene insulation.

I was going to replace the polystyrene with Kingspan and install new plywood as I renovate the boat.

I was thinking of applying a rust converter and painting the inside before sticking the Kingspan and reboarding.

Has anybody else done the same?

Is this overkill or will the Kingspan stuck to the steel solve the issue?

Let's look back at some memorable moments and interesting insights from last year.

Your top 10 posts:

• "It’s a mess but it’s home, happy cake day" by u/mymatejim
• "Hard to believe that 10% of global shipping goes through here." by u/tigralfrosie
• "First time on a narrowboat and im loving it!" by u/_avant_gardener_
• "The 5 mins a day by narrowboat is tidy" by u/peshinator
• "End of a long day on the Ashby." by u/SnooRecipes3191
• "This is why we do it....." by u/ih2bntaj
• "Seen at a lock on the Thames" by u/tor-arne
• "I dont know about you lot, but I couldn't be happier to be back out cruising."
• "Bought blind, sailed from Caen hill to stoke. She needs a lot of work" by u/mymatejim
• "The view from my narrowboat workshop, we don't get many of these evenings but when we do it makes it all worthwhile 🙂" by u/ioanese

Hi guys and gals.

I live on a narrowboat (for foreign people and you rebels, it's a British boat which is no more than 6ft wide and a tradition in Great Britain) where all of the electronics run on 12v. You can use transformers and inverters but they hammer your batteries.

I have resigned to using a gaming laptop as you can easily get 12v car chargers for most brands. But what gaming laptop should I buy?

I have no budget and no money this is a purely theoretical discussion but what gaming laptops do you peeps recommend?

For me a good choice looks like he ASUS Zepherus 14. I'm a bit of a stickler for good clean clear not matte displays. I hate paying for expensive hardware to play games on a shitty washed out dim screen.

When on a narrowboat battery performance and power use is important but to be honest a full charge of gaming a day wouldn't hammer the batteries hard.

Thank you in advance for responding I hope we can all have an interesting chat.

Hello everyone!

I would like to ask everyone who plays video games to say how they do so. I've always been a PC gamer, and so I'm resigned to use gaming laptops (I know, why do all of them look so obnoxious?!) As they can charge on 12v.

But what are your gaming solutions? If you game on PC do you use a laptop and what type? Or do you use a desktop and if so... HOW? (Without destroying your batteries)

I'd appreciate any discussion.

Tha is in advance?

I have several disabilities but the main one is i have reoccurring blood clots (DVTS and PEs) so my walking isnt great and i use a walking stick to get around and my breathing is often a problem. I love the idea of living on the canals and be on the move all the time, exploring and learning on the move. Does anyone have similar issues living on the canals please? if so can you do it alone or is there just too much physical work that needs to be done?

I would be doing this on my own thats why i am asking. The only knowledge i have so far are watching several people on youtube.

Apols for those frustrated by 'the cut' (lol ironic) it was a long clip overall so did a quick edit to trim it down - enjoy the lowering.

https://reddit.com/link/s4ffb7/video/a3y0to7w6tb81/player

I have mold allergies so I am wondering if humidity and mold are often problem with narrowboats,

Have you had humidity problems ?

Thanks

I am looking for ideas for our narrowboat fit-out. I'm talking Gadgets, LED lighting, out of the box designs. Beds with doors to close it off from corridor? Space-saving ideas? Any Pictures would be great.

Hello everyone!

I’ll be starting my live aboard narrow boat adventure next year and was wondering what essentials everyone recommends in terms of appliances, products etc.

I've been wondering if it would be possible to set up a swing down dartboard on a narrowboat, something that could pivot up and be pinned to the ceiling when not in use and braced from behind when in use, assuming you could get a 9 foot alley to throw in. The bare minimum I think that would be needed is about 77-78 inches from floor to the top of the board to be able to pivot the way I am thinking.

I've read about Neutrarust, Fertan, Vacton and Tankguard DW. Which is best? What have other people used?

Hi. My brother and I are about to become new boat owner. Tommorow if all is well.

Its a small 25ft springer. From 1977.

Now we know its current leasure battery is dead. And have a ready AGM replacement to last us while we build a better system.

But while I checked much of everything else. I forgot to see exactly what was there for battery charging atm. (Sorta knowing it was temp)

I was wondering if anyone can share what sort of system they have generally found on older boats. So I have some idea what I'm looking for to fit our temp batt.

To share what I do know. He has a solar panel. And a ephc solar charger for that.

The standard starter battery and my guess is the current dead accesory is likely cheap lead acid.

The boat has a recently upgraded alternator. (Few years) 75a.

Other then that and everything looks clean and well maintained. I know nothing about how the split charging or management of charging the 2 battery is currently set up.

Any ideas or experience of what others have found would be very helpful and great fully recieved.

Update:

We are now sat in Alfred Wooley.

The honest answer was the electrics where a mess. But basically a 1977 level expected job. With multiple wire to each system bolted directly to the post clamps. No terminal blocks no consumer unit.

But the bit that has taken all day. The batt that was used as a leasure bat was a tiny 33ah wet cell.

And the batt box was not large enouth to fit 2 full size batts. And the cables were to short to link to a pair of boxes.

So our first day involved building a new 2nd box. Buying longer 6mm cables. And reconnecting the whole system.

Took us all day. Tested everything at 9pm.

Ready to head of tommorow.

I’m looking at buying a narrowboat next year (done all my research and planning, just saving now for the initial big cost of actually buying one) and I would love to be able to have a cat on the boat. I’m just wondering if anyone has any tips for having cats on boats, and any accessories they would recommend? I’ve always wanted to have the wall shelves for cats to climb on when I buy a house but not sure if this would be practical space wise in a boat? Thanks I’m advance!

Hi All. I've been trying to work out a budget to see how much living on a narrowboat would cost me each month (Approx as the unexpected can happen :-) )

The idea is, I would have a residential mooring at a marina and work from the boat (Hence the need for decent internet, e.g. 4g/5g via antenna). I'll be on my own.

Does the below look believable? I've been looking around people on youtube who have mentioned their spending, plus a few sites with mooring and expenses. Did I miss something out or got a figure wrong.

Thanks for any help, as I'm trying to work out a serious budget to see if it would work out for me.

We're thinking of buying and living on a narrowboat. But unsure what electrical devices will work on the narrowboat electrical system. I'm a bit of a gamer and have an xbox etc, but wondered if it would be too much for a narrowboat?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I will be mostly using 230v shore power and occasional cruising. What is the best or most common way to wire LED lighting inside? 2 Separate ccts (12v & 230v) or One?

I purchased a brand new narrowboat as a liveaboard for my retirement last year at a cost of £96K. The boat was licenced under the BSS and briefly there was a electrical fire which exposed many other life threatening issues. The boat has recently had a full QC Survey and is classed as unfit for purpose with just a shell value of around of £25K. Is it possible for anyone to offer advice as to where i stand with the Boat Safety Scheme, the Examiner and the Boat Builder or provide me with a certified solicitor acting in the Marine Industry.

I’ve been looking around for houseboats. And I love the layout of narrowboats. Seems to be more of a UK boat though. Haven’t really seen any online in the US. Does anybody know of any similar houseboats like this?

Hello. I live aboard a narrowboat (for 1 year now) in UK. I love it and can totally see myself doing this for another few years. Im pretty clued up on practical side of living aboard. I also used to work in a Port so pretty clued up on licensing and qualifications for the UK.

What I don't have a scooby about is vessel types! I'd like to progress outside if the UK inland water ways, and be able to explore Europe, the Mediterranean, even Americas of it is possible.

It'd be great if anyone can profer some sound advice, and tell me a bit about the different classes of vessel, types and sizes that are suitable.

Thanks in advance

I've heard that a narrow boat can last many decades if properly looked after. But if someone in their 30s bought a narrow boat I'm guessing after 30 years the narrow boat will be reaching the point it's too old and need replacing?